Into the Deep

Into the Deep
Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Scout Taylor-Compton, Stuart Townsend, Jon Seda and Collum McGowan
Director: Christian Sesma
Scriptwriters: Chad Law and Josh Ridgway
Composer: Andy Fosberry
Cinematography: Niccolo De La Kene
Saban Films
Rating: R
Running Length: 1 hour and 29 minutes

Just when you thought shark movies were only in the summertime, along comes a shark movie in the middle of winter that will whet your appetite for a sea vacation. “Into The Deep” directed by Christian Sesma and storyline by Chad Law and Josh Ridgway, will take you into a scenario that is great white shark, sunken treasure-of-sorts, and who is going to dive and retrieve it. Richard Dreyfuss is in this film, which is sure to be a draw at the box office Now, don’t confuse this film with the 2022 “Into the Deep” movie that had a different storyline and was a psychotic thriller.

Dreyfuss plays a grandfather to Cassidy (Scout Taylor-Compton) who has fears about the ocean and sharks. This builds up to some great underwater photography. The storyline is all too familiar as this is what happens in the coastal vacation spots where greed and violence take over from innocent vacationers.

As the storyline goes, as a child, Cassidy was with her father deep diving, when he was attacked and killed by a large shark. Cassidy was traumatized and her grandfather helps her through this. Fast forward, and Cassidy and friends are on a vacation yacht and diving, though she is cautious. They encounter bags of something down there that someone else wants. It is a pirate captain (Stuart Townsend) who captures them. He proposes getting this treasure (a cache of drugs) and then, let them go, but the hitch is---they---the victims---have to do the diving. Vacationers’ worst nightmare, plus those sharks. Amid all of this, Cassidy is battling her own nightmares about sharks. What to do?

First of all, the cinematography is very good with fish swimming everywhere. The diving sequences are fine and take the audience into the deep blue with them. Soundtrack by Andy Fosberry neatly fits into the film. Then, as far as acting is concerned, Richard Dreyfuss is there to discuss sharks and has sone good things to say at the end of the film. But in the film, sharks maybe are what some people come to see and not the actors. Go figure. Scout Taylor-Compton is good as Cassidy who tries hard to be brave amid the terror of the pirates (still have them in modern times) and the sharks. Stuart Townsend as Daemon, the Pirate Captain, manages some off-the-cuff comments, but still wants his drug supply. Dialogue is average and par for the course in this type of situation.

All goes smoothly until the end of the film where there is a kind of blip that makes you pause and think, “What?” Despite that, the film does have reminiscences of “Jaws” which Richard Dreyfuss is famous for. There are no eerie tales of being in shark-laden waters for days, as told for the late Robert Shaw in “Jaws.” We settle for Dreyfuss talking about the ocean. Those who are based on land will enjoy the film, while those based on the water may see this as an average film. Whatever your feelings, it is mid-winter now, and everyone needs a warm vacation.

Three Tocks

Copyright 2025 Marie Asner